The 10 best freelance t-shirt designers for hire in 2018

Your clothes say a lot about you—and whether you’re designing a t-shirt to wear on your next company retreat, a hoodie to promote your new product or a tee for your crew to rock at the next big event, you want to make sure that your shirt designs look fantastic. And that’s why you need to hire an experienced shirt designer.

The right t-shirt designers can bring your apparel idea to life in a way that makes the most impact.

How to get the best t-shirt design
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When it comes to t-shirt design, there are a few different roads to take—and the road you decide to go down is going to be entirely based on what you’re looking for and how you prefer to work.

Design contests

If you’re not 100% sure what you want your t-shirt design to look like, then hosting a design contest is definitely the way to go. All you have to do is put together a design brief and designers from all over the world will pitch you their design ideas for an awesome t-shirt. Once all the designs are in, you give feedback, get revisions, then choose the one you like best and BOOM—t-shirt design complete.

Working one-on-one with a freelancer

If you have a pretty clear idea in mind for how you’d like your t-shirts to look, then working directly with a freelancer can be a great way to bring that vision to life. Want to find a shirt designer with a style that matches your aesthetic? You’re in luck!

How did we choose these as the top shirt designers?
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At 99designs, it’s our top priority to connect you with the best t-shirt designer for your project. And in order to make sure we deliver the best talent, we judge each designer based on a clear (and strict) set of criteria:

Skill

We want to make sure the designers we pair you with can walk the walk, so every designer on our platform goes through a portfolio review, where their work is reviewed by our in-house design team. During the evaluation, our design experts are looking for:

Technical skill and execution

Deep knowledge and understanding of design principles

Creative and conceptual thought

Once we’ve reviewed a designer’s portfolio, we assign them to one of three categories:

Top Level: the best of the best, these designers exhibit a high level of creativity and design expertise

Mid Level: these designers can easily handle most projects and are well on their way to establishing themselves as experts

Entry Level: the “rising stars,” these designers don’t have a ton of experience, but they show potential

Experience

Just because a designer can churn out amazing logo designs doesn’t mean they’re the right designer for your t-shirt project.

Different design types require different experience—so when we’re putting together our recommendations, we make sure we’re presenting a roster of designers who can walk the walk—and dress the part—of an awesome t-shirt designer.

Professionalism

We don’t just want to deliver designers with the design chops to complete your project. We want to deliver true professionals.

Creating a positive experience for our clients is important to us, which is why we factor professionalism—including a designer’s responsiveness, ability to adhere to deadlines and overall communication skills—into the equation when rating and recommending our designers. That way, you know not only are you getting a great designer—you’re getting a great designer you can work with on a professional level.

What to think about when hiring a t-shirt designer
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Your t-shirts are like a walking billboard for your brand—which is why it’s important you choose the right designer to bring your t-shirt design to life. Here are a few things to keep in mind when hiring to make sure the person you choose is the right fit for you and your apparel project:

Choose your printing options from the get-go. There are a bunch of different options when it comes to printing your t-shirt (like screen printing and vinyl). Before you choose a designer—and before you start working with your designer to create your t-shirt design—know what printing style you’re going to use. That way, you and your designer can make the best design decisions based on your printing method.

Think about the end product. The right designer for your company uniform shirts isn’t necessarily going to be the same designer you’ll use for edgy merchandise sold at a concert. Before you choose a designer, think about the end product and the kind of impact you want it to have—then choose a designer you feel is the most qualified to create that impact with their design.

Find the right style match. People—whether it’s your team, your customers or yourself—are going to be wearing this shirt, so it’s got to convey the right style (otherwise, it’s going to end up in a pile in the back corner of a closet). Make sure when choosing a designer, you pick someone who has a similar style and can create something you’d be excited to wear.

Are you ready to hire a top freelance t-shirt designer?
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The world of apparel design can be tricky. But when you’ve got the right designer in your corner it doesn’t have to be.

Didn’t quite find the right match on our top 10 list?

Take a look at the thousands of other designers we’ve got in our closet.